The Dangers of Hydrogenated Oils
Do you look at the food labels and make sure you aren't consuming hydrogenated oils? If not, now is the time to start!
Have you ever consumed a delicious food, looked at the ingredients and saw “hydrogenated oil” listed, not knowing what it is? Hydrogenated oils tend to be in conventional products, not so much organic products. Oftentimes you’ll find it in certain breads, pie crust, chips, crackers, peanut butter, margarine, and generally always fast food items. They are oils that have been hydrogenated, meaning hydrogen is added to the oil to make it more solid, have a longer shelf life, and increase flavor. This process makes the already unhealthy fats even worse, and essentially converts them to trans fats. Partially hydrogenated oils are especially bad as they are trans fats and have no health benefits. While fully hydrogenated oils are better, but not much.
If you’ve ever looked at food labels, you’ll often find that all products now contain zero grams of trans fats. These fats are not permitted in food products any longer, but that doesn’t mean you still aren’t consuming them. Through the process of hydrogenation, trans fats are essentially made, allowing the manufacturer to claim there are no trans fats in their products, but they actually do contain them.
If you’re not familiar with trans fats, then realize that they are not to be consumed as there is no health benefit to them. There are a variety of different types of fats from animal and plant sources. Some fats are considered healthy, and others unhealthy. But trans fats are far more than just unhealthy. Consuming them can cause LDL cholesterol levels to rise, while lowering your HDL. This is the opposite of what you actually want. Additionally, they can cause heart disease and fat retention.
Vegetable oils such as canola, corn, cottonseed, and soy are among the worst oils to consume. Healthier oils, such as olive oil, should always be consumed raw and cold as heating the oil essentially turns it to a trans fat and thus the beneficial effects are nullified.
Trans fats are not healthy in any way, so avoid them by always looking at labels and buying products without hydrogenated oils. Partially hydrogenated oils should also be avoided as they tend to be even worse than hydrogenated oils. So, always buy non-hydrogenated oils. Trans fats are unhealthy, but fats in general are what we need for optimal health. So consume healthy fats such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat. Unheated olive oil is a good one, as are avocados, walnuts, and other healthy foods that contain good fats.
By being health conscious and eating things to make you healthier, you will physically and mentally feel good and healthy and won’t have to deal with long-term, possibly irreversible, diseases. If you eat unhealthy, are obese, and/or have heart disease, the best time to start changing your diet is now. So, eat healthy and you will become healthy.
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Additional Info
Before I was health conscious, I would eat whatever and thus wasn’t healthy. I remember a sharp pain I would get in my chest where my heart was that made it hard to take a deep breath. It started happening more and more to the point that I needed to get in shape. I started exercising, changing my diet from omnivore to eventually vegan, and overall I felt so much better. I no longer have those problems. I look at the food I consume, make sure there are no hydrogenated oils and other unnatural substances and thus am far healthier than I was in the past.
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